Aug. 18, 2000

The Bowling Green State University women's soccer team continues to prepare for the 2000 season, which is fast approaching. The Falcons have been practicing for just over a week, and have only one more week until the Aug. 25 season-opening match against St. Bonaventure. That match is part of the Kent Classic, which sees the Brown and Orange taking on Bucknell two days later.

Head coach Andy Richards has assumed the helm of the BGSU program and begins his first Mid-American Conference tour this fall. Richards, a former assistant coach at Oregon State, may be new to the MAC, but his team certainly has a veteran look to it.

The Falcons embark upon the fourth season in program history in 2000. A total of 17 of last year's 20 letterwinners return, including 10 of the 11 starters from last season's squad.

Additionally, the Falcons have a senior class for the first time, as six players have been part of the team for all four seasons. Richards will look to that group to provide leadership and guidance to their teammates.

Richards came on board late in the spring, but was able to view his new troops during the latter part of spring practice, and came away with a sense of excitement.

"The biggest things that impressed me were the intensity, the work rate, and the excitement that I saw in those spring practices," Richards said. "The players are very excited about getting going. They want to compete, to work hard and to be challenged, and that gives me a lot of promise for the season. With hard work and the right attitude, we can do very well as a team."

The senior class includes five players - Ashley Enser, Autumn Harris, Stephanie Heller, Michelle Lisy and Janice Mentrup - who have been in the starting lineup since the team's inaugural year of 1997. Jamie Eshleman has a part-time starter over the first three years, while the seventh senior, Leslie Buse, has seen time in the Falcon lineup over the last two years after sitting out the 1997 campaign.

"It is going to be exciting and unique for this program," said Richards. "We have the seven seniors, all of whom I feel are going to contribute in a major way.

"It is their final season, so I am hoping that their sense of urgency, plus the intensity and enthusiasm that we get from the rest of the team, can make this a special year."

In addition to the seniors, the Falcons welcome back a number of other standouts, including sophomores Jill Conover and Tracy Gleixner. Conover led the team in scoring as a freshman last fall, with 20 points. Gleixner set the BGSU records with 12 goals and 29 points in her initial season of 1998, but sat out last year due to injury. Lisy, who scored 19 points last fall and is the school's career scoring leader, combines with Conover and Gleixner to give Richards a trio of solid strikers.

Defensively, junior Beth Wechsler returns after earning All-Ohio honors last fall. Sophomore goalkeeper Erika Flanders played in all but two matches last fall and showed flashes of brilliance in the net. She could become a stellar goalie for the years to come.

Junior Leslie Hepfinger started all but one match last fall, while classmates Annmarie Aparo and Mandy Smith and sophomores Melissa Galitz and Susan Wallace all saw time in the starting lineup as well. In addition, Richards welcomes four freshmen and two transfers (Libby Christensen from Oregon State and Adrienne Graessle from Samford) to the fold.

The Falcons' 25-woman roster includes seven seniors, seven juniors, seven sophomores and four frosh.

The Mid-American Conference, entering just its fourth year sponsoring the sport of women's soccer, already has seen a measure of success in the sport. The league has proven to be balanced and competitive from top to bottom, and Richards hopes to improve the Falcon fortunes after last year's 10th-place finish.

Although the Brown and Orange finished with a 5-11-3 overall record last year, the Falcons had flashes of stellar play. BGSU opened the season with an overtime victory over Michigan State, for the school's first-ever win over a Big Ten Conference foe.

Additionally, BG suffered a narrow, 1-0 loss on the road to Georgia, a national top-15 team the year before. The Falcons posted a 2-0-1 record against teams that advanced to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament the prior year.

But, the Brown and Orange ended the season with a seven-match losing streak, and Richards can sense a gnawing feeling among his players to make amends for the sub-par finish.

"One of the biggest things the players conveyed in the spring was a great sense of underachievement (last fall)," Richards said. "They didn't do nearly as well as they felt they should have done.

"I think this year they feel, as a group, that they have a point to prove. They are very determined to do well in the conference and show that they're a good team. I am hoping that that feeling will lead us to some great things."

The Falcons open the season with eight contests away from the friendly confines of Cochrane Field. The eight-match home schedule commences Sept. 29 against Northern Illinois.